In 2025, fire departments serving Bristol responded to 58 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 69% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
188 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $80K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 25 | — | |
| 2022 | 32 | +28.0% | |
| 2023 | 24 | -25.0% | |
| 2024 | 49 | +104.2% | |
| 2025 | 58 | +18.4% |
For the 17 building fires Bristol departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 16 building fires investigators classified across 2021–2025. The room or location where ignition occurred — kitchens, bedrooms, exterior, vehicle areas — tells you where to focus prevention.
| # | Area of origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Other | 2 | 12.5% | |
| 2 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 4 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Closet | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 9 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 10 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 4 | 25.0% |
NFIRS Heat Source (HEAT_SOURC) — the physical thing that started it. Spark or ember from operating equipment, an open flame, smoking materials, or hot embers from a fireplace are the leading culprits nationwide. Here's the Bristol mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 18.8% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 3 | 18.8% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 12.5% | |
| 5 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 12.5% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 9 | Conducted heat from another fire | 1 | 6.2% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Bristol sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,057 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 330 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 137 | 42.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | 121 | 34.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 120 | 39.2 mi | |
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 117 | 39.4 mi | |
| 1994 | Smoking | 106 | 46.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Recreation and ceremony | 92 | 36.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 82 | 25.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Natural | 80 | 30.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 77 | 42.0 mi | |
| 1994 | Smoking | 75 | 27.2 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 65 | 28.2 mi |
Top 3 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Vermont cities with population within ±25% of Bristol. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Bristol.
A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.
Numbers reflect incidents reported by participating fire departments to the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) Public Data Release for calendar year 2025. NFIRS is voluntary — about 23,000 of roughly 30,000 US fire departments report — so totals are a strong indicator, not a complete census. Per-capita comparisons use 2023 ACS population estimates. Wildland fire data complements NFIRS with NIFC and USFS perimeters. Active-fire counts come from a dated NIFC snapshot, not a live feed.